Alleged SSL fraudster again denied bail

A renewed bail application for the accused in the multibillion-dollar Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL) fraud, Jean-Ann Panton, was refused by a High Court judge on Thursday.

Justice Vinnette Graham Allen, however, ordered that Panton should be assigned a nursing aide during her incarceration.

The decision came at the end of a two-day application by Panton's attorney Sylvester Hemmings.

Panton is charged with breaches of the Larceny Act, the Proceeds of Crime Act, the Forgery Act and the Cybercrimes Act in relation to the fraud scandal.

She was first refused bail in late February by another High Court judge who indicated at the time that she could again seek bail if she could provide medical evidence about her health condition.

Hemmings, in his submission before Graham Allen, said Panton's condition has worsened and that she has had a stroke and at least two seizures since the first bail application was refused.

But doctors and administrators at the South Camp Rehabilitation Centre, where the fraud accused is being held, painted a different picture.

They said there was nothing to indicate that Panton had a stroke or any seizures and detailed their attempts to accommodate several requests by the accused.

Justice Graham Allen in her decision said she did not find that the submissions by Panton's attorney were borne out by the evidence of prison administrators.

“The submissions are not borne out that Miss Panton's health has worsened. Instead, the court finds that prison administrators have gone to great lengths to accommodate her,” the judge said.

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